Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

फलं लक्षगुणं प्रोक्तं दुर्भिक्षे कृष्णसन्निधौ । एवं धर्मानुसारेण दयाद्भिक्षां तु भिक्षुके

Transliteration

phalaṃ lakṣaguṇaṃ proktaṃ durbhikṣe kṛṣṇasannidhau | evaṃ dharmānusāreṇa dayādbhikṣāṃ tu bhikṣuke

Translation

Ce fruit cent-mille fois accru est proclamé (tout particulièrement) en temps de famine, en la présence même de Kṛṣṇa. Ainsi, selon le dharma, qu’on donne par compassion l’aumône au mendiant.

Word by Word

• फलम्: the result
• फलम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• लक्षगुणम्: hundred-thousand-fold
• लक्षगुणम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लक्ष + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (फलम्)

• प्रोक्तम्: is declared
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriyā (Predicate, passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (said/declared)

• दुर्भिक्षे: in famine
• दुर्भिक्षे: Adhikaraṇa (Condition/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्भिक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• कृष्णसन्निधौ: in Krishna's presence
• कृष्णसन्निधौ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Presence)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण + सन्निधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कृष्णस्य सन्निधिः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb of manner)

• धर्मानुसारेण: according to dharma
• धर्मानुसारेण: Karaṇa (According to/By)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + अनुसार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (धर्मस्य अनुसारः), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• दयात्: out of compassion
• दयात्: Hetu (Cause/Motive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative: from/out of)

• भिक्षाम्: alms
• भिक्षाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिक्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• भिक्षुके: to a beggar/monk
• भिक्षुके: Sampradāna (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिक्षुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन (dative)

Speaker

Śrī Prahlāda (continuation of discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A famine-stricken landscape near Dvārakā; a compassionate householder offers a bowl of grain to a mendicant, with Kṛṣṇa’s sanctifying presence implied by a nearby shrine/garuḍa-dhvaja and devotees witnessing the act.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Bhikṣuka (mendicant)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna rooted in compassion becomes supremely meritorious, especially amid hardship, and even more so in Kṛṣṇa’s sacred proximity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kṛṣṇa-sannidhi within the Dvārakā Māhātmya framework—i.e., Dvārakā as the place of heightened spiritual merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhikṣā-dāna: giving alms to a bhikṣuka (mendicant), particularly during durbhikṣa (famine/scarcity), guided by dayā (compassion).